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Huge Changes Coming to AdWords & Other Top Stories from May

Search marketers the world over watched with baited breath last week as Google finally unveiled a whole raft of new features and improvements coming to the AdWords platform.

Although you could technically lump everything Google announced under the same banner, there was so much new information to digest, there was no way we could condense everything into one post (not that we’d want to). For this reason, the various changes coming to AdWords dominated the WordStream blog in May, so if you missed the big reveal and what it means for your campaigns, read on.

Of course, there was a bunch of other exciting stuff going on at the WordStream blog this month, but in light of Google’s epic announcement, we won’t be offended if you overlooked it – kind of like if a nifty new tool were released on the same day as Godzilla was sighted off the coast of Japan, for instance.

1. 5 Big Changes Coming to AdWords: Everything You Need to Know: This was the story in digital marketing this month. Google unveiled a host of new features that advertisers and marketers can expect to take advantage of as early as next year, including location-based ads in Google Maps and new responsive display ads. Larry was at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, for the announcement, and this detailed summary of the impending changes should be at the top of your reading list.

2. 5 Brilliant Competitive Advertising Strategies to Outsmart Your Competition: Some businesses shy away from directly competing with other companies in their space, favoring a less confrontational approach. However, as Larry explains in our second-most popular post from May, going straight for the throat can be a remarkably effective advertising strategy. Check out this post for five ways you can go after your competition – and win.

3. 7 Excel Tricks to Make You a Power User: Let’s face it – Excel will never be a “sexy” application. Although few people are impressed by pivot tables and other Excel features, that’s not to say they’re not incredibly powerful. In this post, Larry highlights seven cool tricks you can use to level up your Excel skills.

4. Google Expanded Text Ads: 10 Things You Need to Know: Last week, Google announced the biggest change to its text-based PPC ads we’ve seen in 15 years – but what’s going on? Find out in our fourth-most popular post of the month, in which WordStream’s Fearless Leader Larry Kim highlights what you can expect from Google’s newly expanded text-ad format, and how you can leverage these new features for maximum gain.

5. Why You NEED to Raise Organic CTRs (And How to Do It): In the world of PPC, most marketers are primarily concerned with the CTRs of their paid campaigns, an understandable position. However, if you’ve been neglecting your organic CTRs, you could be in big trouble. Larry drops some knowledge in this post about why you need to start focusing on your organic CTRs, too – right now.

6. 3 Landing Page Optimization Myths EXPOSED: Conversion rate optimization is arguably the hottest trend in digital marketing since content. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of bad information out there, including some stubbornly persistent myths and misconceptions about what landing pages should be and do in the first place. In our sixth-most popular post of May, yours truly debunks three of the most common landing page myths, and offers several suggestions on what to focus on instead.

7. Easy AdWords Bidding Strategies for Newbies and Math Haters: Getting started with AdWords is easy. Grasping complicated bidding strategies is another matter entirely. Fortunately, you don’t need to be a doctoral candidate in applied computational mathematics to start leveraging the power of AdWords’ bidding options, as Erin expertly demonstrates in this post. Essential reading for those hoping to exert more power and control over their campaigns.

8. These Coding Skills Will Make Every PPC Specialist More Valuable: These days, it seems like everybody’s learning to code. Even if you don’t know a string from an array, or couldn’t declare a function in JavaScript if your life depended on it, you can still learn fundamental coding skills that will make you considerably more valuable to employers and clients as a PPC specialist. In this post, guest author Frederik Hyldig of Denmark’s s360 agency shows you how to do just that.

9. 7 Totally Underrated Free AdWords Tools: You could be forgiven for thinking that you don’t need any more free tools to help you manage your PPC workflows. While you might be right, these seven free AdWords tools are seriously underrated, and Erin shows us why in this post. You never know, you may just find the tool that could save you hours of time.

10. 9 Easy Ways to Improve Your Marketing Resume: Looking for a job in marketing? Have you optimized your resume? No, I’m not kidding. In our final post of this month’s round-up, Elisa explains why you should absolutely include keywords in your resume (yes, really), why listing Microsoft Office “skills” is a waste of space, and other great tips to help your resume stand out from the crowd. A must-read for new and experienced marketers alike.